The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
by Calem de Vaniville
Summary: Serena is the fairest princess of all. She has been cursed by an evil fairy to fall asleep until a prince wakes her. Eventually, Prince Calem comes to her rescue. But he has some problems of his own that might prove difficult for her. Based on Perrault's version of Sleeping Beauty.
1. Part 1

_**DISCLAIMER:**__ I do not own Calem, Serena, or related Pokemon characters. They are property of Nintendo._

_This story is mostly based on Charles Perrault's version of Sleeping Beauty which was written in 1697. You might not recognize it - the more familiar one is the Grimms' version. In this version, there are eight fairies (the eighth fairy being the evil one). This version has a second part featuring an evil ogress mother trying to eat the princess and her children. I hope you like it!_

* * *

**THE ESTATE OF NIBIRU-MUL PRESENTS**

**THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD**

**CAST:**

Sleeping Beauty - Serena

King - Professor Augustine Sycamore

Queen - Grace

Six Good Fairies - Sabrina, Jasmine, Winona, Gardenia, Elesa, Viola

Seventh Fairy - Valerie

Evil Fairy - Malva

Advisor - Wikstrom

Spinning woman - Drasna

Dwarf in seven-league boots - Clemont

Lady-in-waiting - Korrina

Servants - Shauna, Tierno, Trevor

Old Peasant - Ramos

Prince - Calem

Prince's father - Wulfric

Evil Ogress Queen - Olympia

Steward - Siebold

Steward's wife - Diantha

* * *

**PART I**

Once upon a time, there lived a king and queen. King Augustine and his wife, Queen Grace, longed for a child of their own. They prayed and made pilgrimages, and did everything that they could do, but to no avail. Then one day...

We hear the sound of crying. King Augustine runs into his wife's bedchamber and sees the Queen with a baby.

"Augustine!" said Queen Grace. "I have had a child. This baby is our daughter."

Augustine went closer to the baby. He saw her wrapped in a pink blanket.

"Aw," he said, tickling the baby with his finger, "you're cute. Coochie-coochie-coo!"

"What do you want to call her?" asked Queen Grace.

"We shall call her Serena," said King Augustine. "And we should have a great christening ceremony for her."

Wikstrom, the king's trusty advisor, entered the room.

"Your Highness," said Wikstrom, "I congratulate you on the birth of your daughter."

"Thank you," said King Augustine. "And now we must hold a christening ceremony in honor of the new princess!"

"That is a great idea," said Wikstrom. "And who do you wish to invite?"

"We will invite everyone in the kingdom," said King Augustine.

"That means that you shall invite the seven good fairies?" asked Wikstrom.

"Indeed," said King Augustine. "They are to be her godmothers, and they shall present her with gifts. I will commission a gold casket for each of the fairies. Each will contain a spoon, a fork, and a knife of pure gold, for that is what they must be served with."

The christening ceremony was held soon after, and after it was over, everyone went to King Augustine's palace. There a banquet was held in honor of the fairies. The fairies received their caskets, and were stunned to find gold forks, spoons, and knives set with jewels.

"These are amazing!" said Elesa.

"Thank you for serving us with these," said Winona.

"Our pleasure," said Queen Grace.

But while the banquet was going on, an eighth fairy entered the palace in a flash of fire. She had pink hair and was clad in a shining black and silver gown. In her hand was an iron staff. She had not been invited since no one had seen her in fifty years - some people had even thought she was dead. Her name was Malva, and she was quite sinister.

"What is this?" asked Malva upon entering. "Why wasn't I invited too?"

"What is she doing here?" asked Wikstrom. "I didn't think she was alive."

"I know," said King Augustine, "but we must give her a seat at the table."

"It will be impossible to give her a golden casket," said Wikstrom. "There are only seven, and they're all taken."

King Augustine seated Malva at the table. Malva felt insulted by not being invited, and grumbled threats. Valerie, the fairy in a pink gown, overheard her.

"This does not look good," said Valerie. "She might curse the young princess. I better speak last, so I can counter any mischief that she may do."

The fairies were then presented to Princess Serena. They gathered near her cradle - all except for Valerie, who hid behind the tapestry so as to watch Malva.

Sabrina, the first fairy, clad in an aubergine gown, waved her wond.

"O dear princess," she said, "you shall be the most beautiful person in the world!"

Next came Jasmine, who was clad in a tangerine gown. She waved her wand.

"You shall have the temper of an angel," said Jasmine.

Third was Winona, who was clad in a sky blue gown.

"You shall be the most graceful of all," said Winona.

Fourth was Gardenia, the one in an emerald green gown.

"You shall be a skilled dancer," said Gardenia.

Fifth was Elesa, clad in a lemon yellow gown.

"She shall sing like an Altaria," said Elesa.

Sixth was Viola, who wore a scarlet gown.

"She should play every instrument well," said Viola.

Now was Malva's turn. Malva slowly approached the cradle, with her black cape trailing along as she walked. Her iron staff banged along the ground. She looked angry as she went along. King Augustine and Queen Grace looked nervous about this.

"And now for my gift," said Malva. "I have a gift that you will never forget. In her fifteenth year, the princess will prick her hand on a spindle, and she will die!"

"Oh no!" cried Queen Grace. "My baby's going to die!"

"I have done my business here," said Malva. "I shall go now! See you in fifteen years!"

Malva laughed maniacally and disappeared in a flame.

Valerie went forward from the tapestry.

"Oh, dear," said King Augustine. "Please! You must save her!"

"You must undo the spell," said Queen Grace.

"I cannot undo it," said Valerie. "Malva is very powerful, and I am not strong enough. But I can soften the curse for Serena." The king and queen agreed to this. Valerie then approached Serena's cradle and waved her wand. "O Serena, you shall not die from the witch's curse, but instead fall into a deep sleep for a hundred years and be awakened by a prince."

And so it was. Valerie cast her gift, and it was to be.

Soon afterwards, King Augustine published an edict that forbade the use of spinning wheels or spindles on pain of death. Every spinning wheel that could be found was destroyed, as to protect Serena from Malva's evil curse.

But Malva watched in the distance as the spinning wheels were burned.

"Can't they see that this curse will happen?" she said. "I am going to have my revenge!"


	2. Part 2

**PART II**

Fifteen years passed. Princess Serena grew into a beautiful maiden with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. The six good fairies' gifts had come true. But what was to be of the seventh fairy's gift?

One day, Serena was in her room, singing a lovely song while she played her lute. She was thinking of the day that a prince would come to marry her. She thought up a melody that she would like him to hear. As Serena played her lute, she began to dance around. She twirled around the room and then bumped into the wall.

Luckily, her lute wasn't damaged. But she did feel a bit dizzy.

"I shouldn't have spun around like that," said Serena. "But that melody was so exciting, I couldn't resist."

King Augustine and Queen Grace came into Serena's room.

"Serena, darling," said King Augustine, "we have some news for you."

"What is it, Father?" asked Serena.

"We are going to spend a few weeks at our country manor," said Queen Grace.

"Can I come?" asked Serena.

"Unfortunately, we cannot take you with us," said King Augustine. "It's dangerous out there, and I would prefer that you stay home."

"Oh, man!" said Serena.

"Feel free to explore the palace while we are out," said Queen Grace. "Just be careful. Don't leave the palace grounds for anything. And don't get lost inside the palace - there are rooms that you've never even been in."

"I will be careful," said Serena. "I promise not to get lost."

"We'll be back in a few weeks," said Queen Grace.

"Goodbye, darling!" said King Augustine.

"Goodbye!" said Serena, hugging her parents goodbye. And that was the last she would see of them.

After the king and queen had departed in their royal carriage, Serena decided to wander around the palace.

"This place is so big!" she said. "It's easy to get lost."

Serena explored room after room and floor after floor. She went to every room that she was familiar with, and she talked to her favorite servants - Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor.

"Hello there, Serena!" said Trevor.

"How's it going, Your Highness?" asked Shauna.

"Wonderful!" said Serena. "This is going to keep me occupied while my parents are away."

"There are many rooms here," said Tierno. "Just don't get lost."

"I won't get lost," said Serena. "I'll be able to find my way back."

"Okay," said Tierno. "But just avoid the garret of one of the towers. There's something I saw in there earlier that you must avoid."

Serena thought about these words for a moment. What was possibly in that garret that could be so bad?

Afterwards, Serena went back to exploring. Once she had searched every familiar part of the palace, she went down a hallway that she had never explored. As she walked down, she saw how lonely it looked. There were only a handful of servants there. But there were plenty of rooms. Serena saw the various treasures inside the room. These treasures looked wondrous.

"I can't see what I had been missing my not going down this hall," Serena told herself.

Once Serena had visited every room in this hallway, she had explored just about every room in the palace - except one. After supper was over, and when the sun began to set, Serena went to a quiet tower in the hallway she had previously explored and came to a garret. This was indeed the forbidden garret, but curiosity got the better of her. Serena opened the door and looked inside. There was an old woman spinning on a spinning wheel. This woman had trouble hearing, and thus she had never heard King Augustine's ban on spinning wheels.

Serena walked inside and was curious as to what the old woman was doing.

"Who are you?" asked Serena, not recognizing the old woman.

"I am Drasna," said the old woman.

"What is it that you are doing, Drasna?" asked Serena.

"I am spinning, my pretty child," said Drasna.

"Oh, what fun!" said Serena. "Can you show me how to do it? Let me see if I can try."

Serena reached out for the spindle, not knowing that it would set off Malva's curse. And true to the fairy's word, as soon as Serena touched the spindle, she pricked her finger on the needle and fell down in a swoon.

The faint laughter of the evil Malva was heard. She had been watching from afar this whole time.

"Victory is mine!" she said.

Back at the palace...

"Oh my," said Drasna. "The king and queen are going to be worried."

Drasna called out for help, and within minutes people began running from every quarter. They saw the seemingly lifeless princess and tried to think of a solution.

"I know!" said Shauna. "Water will wake her up!"

Shauna threw water on Serena's face. No response.

"Maybe a good slap on the hand would help," said Tierno.

Tierno slapped Serena's hand with one of his big hands. It didn't work.

"Maybe we can rub her with this royal essence of Hungary," said Trevor, who was holding a vial of essence.

Trevor tried using the essence on Serena's face. But it did not restored her.

Wikstrom took note of this and fetched the king and queen. The next morning, when King Augustine and Queen Grace arrived, they saw their daughter. The two of them grieved for her, seeing that she would not wake up no matter what people tried. Wikstrom notified them of the curse.

"Valerie's prophecy...it came true!" said King Augustine. "It must have been bound to happen."

"I guess you can't fight fate," said Queen Grace. "But this is terrible!"

"Wikstrom," said King Augustine, "tell the servants to place Serena in the finest room in the palace, on a bed of gold and silver." The servants did as the king wished. As Serena lay down, she looked like an angel. The color had not gone from her face. One could notice that she was breathing gently, and it was obvious that she wasn't dead - just sleeping.

"Let's leave her to rest in peace," said King Augustine.

When this all happened, Valerie was in the faraway kingdom of Mataquin, twelve thousand leagues away. She had been warned of this by the dwarf Clemont, who rushed to her while wearing his seven-league boots.

"You must go to Augustine's kingdom," he said.

"I'm on it," said Valerie.

Valerie set off at once on her chariot of fire, drawn by Salamence, and an hour later her chariot was seen approaching the palace.

"Greetings, Valerie," said King Augustine as he helped Valerie from her chariot. "You are here to help Serena?"

"That's what I'm here for," said Valerie. "Listen here. When the princess is asleep, if she wakes up all alone, she will be quite distressed. That is why I will put all of the servants in the palace to sleep, so that she will have them."

"But what about us?" asked Queen Grace.

"The princess will marry her prince," said Valerie, "so it will not be necessary to put you to sleep."

"But that means we will never see our daughter again," said King Augustine.

"I'm sorry," said Valerie, with a single tear dropping from one of her eyes.

King Augustine and Queen Grace agreed to this.

And so Valerie went to work. She touched everyone in the palace except the king and queen. She put the governesses, ladies-in-waiting, gentlemen, guards, and servants to sleep. She also made the Pokemon sleep - the Rapidash in the stables and the big Stoutland who roamed the grounds, and even the little Pidgey who flew overhead. Even the food roasting on the spits subsided into slumber. This was done in a moment, for fairies are fast workers.

King Augustine and Queen Grace went to Serena's room and kissed her without waking her.

"Goodbye, dear daughter," said King Augustine.

"We will miss you terribly," said Queen Grace.

The king and queen left the palace and proclaimed that no one was to go near it. Two people had gone out of the palace earlier - Wikstrom, who was ever faithful to his king, and Drasna, who felt that she had been the one responsible for the whole event, despite it not being her fault.

The proclamation was not needed, for within an hour's time a vast quantity of trees great and small, with many brambles and thorns, sprang up around the palace grounds. They were so thick that neither man nor Pokemon could penetrate. Only the highest towers of the palace remained visible, and they could only be seen from a distance. This was done so Serena could rest in peace without onlookers.


	3. Part 3

**PART III**

A hundred years passed, and another royal family came to the throne. The son of Wulfric, the ruling king, was hunting in the woods. His name was Prince Calem. He was a handsome young fellow - right now he was in a fancy blue tunic over purple tights. On his head was a red hat with orange feathers.

Calem saw some towers in the distance - in the middle of a dense forest. He wondered what these towers were. He asked the various people in town. Many of the people believed that the palace was haunted, filled with horrible creatures. One particularly gruesome story was of a Cofagrigus who supposedly lived in the palace and gobbled up people who dared to approach its home.

Calem was unsure what to believe. He eventually was approached by an old peasant named Ramos, who told him about the palace.

"Your Majesty," said Ramos, "those stories you heard are all false."

"Then what is in that palace?" asked Calem.

"I will tell you," said Ramos. "My father had told me fifty years ago that my grandfather remembered when this palace was visible. In the palace is a princess, the most beautiful that was ever seen. She has been asleep for a hundred years and is waiting to be awoken by a prince."

"Is that true?" asked Calem. Ramos nodded his head. "Then I must go to see her right away!"

Calem went to the forest and looked at the trees. To his surprise, the trees, brambles, and thorns moved back and created a pathway.

"Astonishing!" said Calem. "It must be my duty to go inside."

Calem went through the path, and the trees closed behind him.

"This is not good," said Calem.

But Calem pressed onward, though he was nervous. He saw men, women, and Pokemon all appearing lifeless. Calem thought that they were dead. But he looked closer and saw that they were merely sleeping.

Calem walked through the courtyard and ascended a great staircase. He saw the guards lined up in the guardroom, all standing and snoring. Then he passed several apartments where there were ladies, gentlemen, and servants snoring. Three of the ones he had passed were Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor, who all looked peaceful.

Eventually, Calem came to a chamber decked all over with gold. He encountered the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. The bed, surrounded with curtains drawn back, contained a princess in a pink gown embroidered with gold and silver. This was indeed Princess Serena, and her beauty seemed out of this world.

"It's the princess!" Calem gasped.

Calem went to the bedside and knelt down before Serena. At the same moment, Serena awoke and looked at him. She smiled.

"Is that you, my prince?" she asked. "I am Princess Serena, and I have been waiting a hundred years for you to come."

"And it's just the right time that I came," said Calem. "I am Prince Calem, and my father rules this kingdom."

Serena looked a bit confused, but Calem explained that a different dynasty was ruling now. She felt sad that her parents were gone, but she accepted the fact and was glad to be awake from the enchanted sleep and to have Calem by her side.

"Serena," said Calem, "I love you better than I love myself."

Calem felt embarrassed. Serena had a hundred years to think of something to say - Valerie had given Serena pleasant dreams while she slept. This was quite pleasing for Serena - she had dreamed of the prince who would rescue her from her sleep. And this very day, the prince of her dreams had rescued her.

Now the whole palace was awake, and everyone went about their business. Because they had not eaten in a century, everyone felt very hungry. The prince and princess talked for four hours while supper was prepared. Eventually, the lady-in-waiting Korrina grew impatient and went to fetch them.

"Your Highness," said Korinna. "Dinner is served. Come down to the dining hall with me."

Calem helped Serena out of bed. He refrained from telling her that she was dressed like his great-grandmother, with a high collar, but this did not detract from her radiant beauty.

Then the prince and princess passed a hall of mirrors. Then they reached the hall where they were served supper at a great banquet. There were fiddles and oboes played with great skill, considering that they had not been played for so long.

After dinner, Calem and Serena were married in the palace chapel. The seven good fairies attended and gave the couple their blessings. Valerie was especially happy since love had conquered all.

But Malva was not invited, and she watched from outside.

"Curses!" she said. "I have been foiled!"

And afterwards she was never seen again.

But this is not the end of this tale...


	4. Part 4

**PART IV**

A few days after the wedding, Calem's father, King Wulfric, became worried that the prince had gotten lost. Calem knew that he had to go back to his palace, which was located in the nearby city. But first he had to tell his beloved Serena.

"Serena, dear," said Calem, "I have to go back to my father, the king. He is worried about me."

"Very well then," said Serena. "Come back soon!"

Calem went back to his palace. He told his father that he had gotten lost in the woods, and had stayed with a charcoal burner in a hovel.

"I believe you," said King Wulfric. "It's good to have you back."

But Calem's mother, Queen Olympia, was not fooled by this. She soon noticed that Calem went out for days on end, and he always had an excuse for when he returned.

"Wulfric!" Queen Olympia told her husband. "That boy is always out hunting. He doesn't ever spend time here. I am suspecting that he is in love with a girl whom he had met out there, and I want to know who she is!"

"Easy there, dear," said King Wulfric. "Don't get yourself worked up."

"I am suspicious," said Queen Olympia, "and I will get to the bottom of this!"

After a year had passed, Serena gave birth to a child. Her first child was a daughter, who was named Aurore, meaning "dawn", for she was as beautiful as the dawn. A year after Aurore was born, Serena bore another child. This time she had a son, and he was named Jour, meaning "day", for he was even fairer than his sister. Both children had their father's dark hair and both their parents' blue eyes.

After this, Queen Olympia called in her son.

"Calem," she said, "you must settle down with a lady. You are our only child, and it's for the good of our kingdom. You should trust your mother." But Calem did not trust Queen Olympia. He actually feared her, for she had ogreish blood, and the king only married her for her wealth. Olympia had ogreish instincts - it was said that she enjoyed eating small children, no matter how hard she tried not to. No wonder Calem did not trust his mother.

Once two more years were up, King Wulfric died, and Calem found himself king. Now was the time to announce his marriage.

"Mother," said Calem, "I know how many times you've told me to settle down. But I already have a wife. Her name is Princess Serena, and I rescued her from her hundred-year sleep four years ago. I have a son and a daughter with her as well."

Queen Olympia's face turned red and she gave into rage. But she did not say anything to Calem, for he was no king, and he could have her beheaded if he wished it.

Calem went to fetch Serena, Aurore, and Jour from Serena's palace.

"Serena," Calem told his wife, "my father has died. I am now ruler of this kingdom. I'm here to bring you and the children back to my palace."

"I'd love to go," said Serena. "We shall depart soon."

Serena brought Aurore and Jour in.

"Children," she said, "we are going to live in your father's palace. Are you looking forward to it?"

"Yes, Mommy!" said Aurore.

And so Calem brought Serena, Aurore, and Jour back to the city. Serena made a triumphant entry into the palace.

Olympia saw the children and looked at them with a smirk.

"Those children would make a fine meal, wouldn't they?" she said.

Olympia tolerated her grandchildren for the time being, knowing that her son was suspicious of her. Calem watched his wife and children as often as he could as to protect them from the queen mother. He had the feeling that she was going to eat them.

After a year had passed, Calem had to leave on an excursion. The emperor Lysandre was planning an invasion and Calem was going to quell it.

"I am going for a few months," he told his wife and children. "I'll be back then."

"We'll miss you, Daddy," said Aurore.

"Is Mommy going to watch us?" asked Jour.

"Yes," said Calem. "Be good for her while you're gone."

Serena approached her husband.

"Calem," she said, "we will wait for you here and pray for your safe return. I wish you the best of luck. Goodbye, dear husband!"

Calem departed soon afterwards. Unfortunately, Olympia requested to be regent, and Calem had to appoint her as such. This made him feel uneasy, for Olympia had ill intentions while her son was away stopping the invasion.

While Calem was leaving, Olympia watched from the balcony. She laughed and thought to herself that now was the perfect opportunity to eat her son's children.


	5. Part 5

**PART V**

Not long after Calem had left, Olympia decided to take Serena and her children out of the palace.

"Where are you taking us?" asked Serena while they were in a carriage.

"To one of the royal country manors," said Olympia. "You will like it there. So will your children."

Soon afterwards, Serena and her children found themselves at a country manor. She noticed that it looked a lot like the one her parents went to on the day she pricked her finger on the spindle. That was because it _was_ the old country manor - only there had been additions to it over the years. Olympia took Serena and her children here to trap them for her sinister plan.

A few days later, Olympia visited the manor. She summoned Siebold, the chief steward.

"For my dinner tomorrow," said Olympia, "I will eat little Aurore."

Siebold was shocked.

"Oh, Madame!" he said. "You cannot do that! She is your grandchild. The king wouldn't like it."

"That is my will," said Olympia in a frightening tone. "You will feed her with piquant sauce. And here's a knife to kill her." She handed Siebold a butcher's knife.

Siebold could not argue with Olympia, so he went up to little Aurore's chamber. Aurore was four years old at the time. When she saw Siebold, she ran up to him and hugged him.

"Hello, Monsieur," said Aurore. "Can I have some candy?"

Siebold burst into tears and dropped his knife, for he could not kill an innocent child. Instead of using the knife on Aurore, he slaughtered a Mareep and cooked it in piquant sauce. Olympia was delighted with her meal.

Then Siebold gave Aurore to his wife Diantha.

"Honey," he said, "go hide the princess in the basement. The queen mother is trying to eat her!"

"That's horrible," said Diantha. "I will protect the princess." Diantha hid Aurore in the basement.

Eight days later, Olympia summoned Siebold again.

"For my supper," said Olympia, "I will eat little Jour."

Siebold knew what to do, so he decided to trick her again. He found Jour, who was three years old, in a play room. Jour had a tiny foil in his hand, and was playing with it, swinging it at a toy Simipour. Siebold brought Jour to Diantha, who hid Jour with his sister.

Once that was done, Siebold cooked up a Skiddo and served it to Olympia.

"Delicious!" she said. "He tastes even better than his sister."

Siebold was grossed out by this comment.

But then one day, Olympia had a particularly gruesome demand.

"Today," she told Siebold, "I shall eat the queen. Serve her with the same sauce that you used on her children."

"You can't eat Serena!" said Siebold. "The king will be furious."

"DO IT!" yelled Olympia. "Or I will kill her myself."

Siebold feared for his life, and could not find a Pokemon that would correspond to Serena. Serena was twenty years old, not counting the hundred years that she slept, and her skin had toughened. Since Siebold could not find anything, he went up to Serena's chamber with knife in hand.

Serena saw the steward with his knife.

"Please," cried Serena, "kill me so I can see my children again!" She had thought that her children were dead.

Siebold was moved by this compassion.

"No, Your Highness," he said. "You will see your children. They are hidden in my quarters. I will make Olympia eat a Sawsbuck instead." Siebold and his wife hid Serena with her children.

"I'm so glad to see you!" said Serena as she saw her children.

"Now we're back together," said Aurore.

"What's gonna happen?" asked Jour.

"I don't know," said Serena. "I really don't know."

Siebold went to slaughter a young Sawsbuck and cooked it in piquant sauce. He served it to Olympia, who gobbled it up with delight.

"Excellent!" said Olympia. "Now my work is complete! I have eaten them all! There is no stopping me!"

Still, Olympia went to prowl the grounds of the manor each night in search of raw meat. And surely enough, a few days later she went near the basement. There she overheard Jour crying, and realized that this was all a trick.

Olympia broke down the door, and Serena and her children screamed.

"A-ha!" said Olympia. "I knew it was you! I have been deceived - but no longer shall I be lied to."

Siebold and Diantha, who were also in there, were afraid too. Olympia yelled at them.

"Fools!" she snapped. "You betrayed me! You will pay for this!"

"But, Your Majesty..." said Siebold.

"SILENCE!" yelled Olympia.

The next morning, Olympia brought everyone to Calem's palace.

"Servants," Olympia told her servants. "I sentence these traitors to death. Throw them into a vat filled with Ekans to devour them! Bring Serena and her children and Siebold and Diantha to the courtyard right away." The servants, who feared the angry queen mother, did so. They tied the victims' hands behind their backs.

"Please," said Serena, "you mustn't do this! Please spare us!"

"I cannot spare you!" said Olympia. "I am to have my revenge." The victims were moved closer to the vat. "Closer...closer..."

But then, unexpectedly, Calem rode into the courtyard and saw what his mother was doing.

"I demand an explanation for this barbarity," said Calem.

"They had tricked me when I tried to eat them," said Olympia, seeing no shame in her words. "Now they will be eaten, and you cannot stop me." At this moment, Calem started to feel angry at his mother's words.

Seeing that Calem might order her head to be cut off, Olympia threw herself into the vat and was devoured by the Ekans. Calem felt kind of bad about it, since she was his mother, even though he knew that he had been fooled.

"Calem!" said Serena. "You came to save us!"

"I am so glad you and our children have been spared," said Calem.

Calem untied the victims' hands. Once she was free, Serena gave Calem a hug.

"Thank you, dear!" she said.

Aurore and Jour felt happy too.

"Daddy!" said Jour.

"We're so happy to see you!" said Aurore.

"Yes, honey," said Calem. "Your father is home."

"What about the invasion?" asked Serena.

"It's over," said Calem, "and Lysandre has backed off. The seven good fairies told me that you were in trouble, and I rushed over here as fast as I could."

Siebold and Diantha were very grateful.

"Your Highness," said Diantha, "we cannot thank you enough."

"My pleasure," said Calem.

"Olympia had been using me to do her bidding," said Siebold. "She tried to force me to kill your wife and children. I'm sorry I was forced to."

"You're forgiven," said Calem. "It wasn't your fault."

"Thanks," said Siebold.

Calem turned back to wife and children.

"It has been quite an adventure these past five years," Calem told Serena. "Now I think I really want to settle down with my family."

"I would like that too," said Serena. "I'm so happy to have you by my side."

Serena and Calem kissed.

Afterwards, things went back to normal, and Serena, Calem, and their children lived happily ever after.

**THE END**


End file.
